Armored personnel carrier
, 1984.]] An armored personnel carrier (APC), also referred to as armored vehicle, is an armored fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry and other personnel to the battlefield. They are usually equipped with a machine gun, although variants equipped with recoilless rifles, mortars, or anti-tank guided missiles do exist. However, they aren't designed for direct combat. LAV-Type G An experimental personnel carrier, the LAV-Type G possesses twin screws give it excellent mobility on both land and water. The "G" variant sacrifices heavier armament in favor of greater troop carrying capacity. In November 1974, Naked Snake/Big Boss encountered one such prototype when attempting to sneak through Bananal Fruta de Oro's farm area to track down Sandinista leader Amanda Valenciano Libre, and was forced to neutralize it due to being unable to sneak around it. The Militaires Sans Frontières later managed to procure some of the prototypes in their expanding arsenal. They were also used by their opposing army within operations outside of Costa Rica/Nicaragua. LAV-Type C A heavily armed version of the LAV, its main gun was upgraded to 76mm to boost its solo combat capabilities. At the same time, it boasts plenty of carrying capacity, making it a well rounded threat. Type-C LAVs were supplied to Peace Sentinel, which the MSF later managed to capture for their expanding arsenal. They were also used by the opposing sides of the MSF's operations outside Costa Rica and Nicaragua. BTR-60 PA The BTR-60 PA was a variant of the BTR-60 APC used by the Soviet Union. Developed in 1963, it is the main armored carrier of the Soviet Union. Like the other BTR-60 series, it was equipped with eight wheels for easy road mobility, as well as water jetter for cutting across bodies of water for transport. However, various improvements to the design were made. Namely, it has an armored roof over the troop compartment, and is fitted with closed down viewing devices for the crew. During the Peace Walker Incident, Peace Sentinel procured some BTR-60PAs via Vladimir Zadornov. Later on, the MSF managed to capture several of them for their expanding resources. Their enemies when conducting various operations outside Costa Rica/Nicaragua also utilized the BTR-60PAs. BTR-60 PB The BTR-60 PB was a variant of the BTR-60 APC used by the Soviet Union. Developed in 1966, it included improved sighting systems for its 14.5mm KPVT heavy machinegun and an improved GAZ49B engine. In addition, its main firepower was upgraded to a 25mm autocannon. During the Peace Walker Incident, Peace Sentinel procured some BTR-60PBs via Vladimir Zadornov. Later on, the MSF managed to capture several of them for their expanding resources. Their enemies when conducting various operations outside Costa Rica/Nicaragua also utilized the BTR-60PBs. BTR-152 The BTR-152 was a non-amphibious APC used by the Soviet Union developed in 1948. It was one of the first APCs developed by the Soviet Union, having been based on the design of the ZIL-151 transport truck. It was believed to have been designed primarily for motorized rifle divisions. In addition to the two main drivers, the BTR-152 was also capable of transporting a contingent of 17 fully armed troops.Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Konami Computer Entertainment Japan (2004). Sigint explains the development of the BTR-152 to Naked Snake in an optional radio conversation, triggered when calling in close proximity of a BTR-152 vehicle. However, various flaws, such as lacking a roof, required the Soviet Union to create the BTR-60 line of APCs, although it eventually got a roof with the BTR-152K. During Naked Snake's missions into Tselinoyarsk, GRU utilized various BTR-152 APCs, for guard duty and presumably for transporting purposes. While escaping with EVA, he and EVA also encountered various BTR-152s attempting to attack them. Several of them were destroyed by Colonel Volgin's Shagohod, although the ones outside Groznyj Grad still hunted them down and put up a blockade. During the 1970s, although it still remained in use with the Red Army, it was largely replaced by the BTR-60 APC line. IAV Stryker See main article The IAV Stryker is an eight wheeled transport APC developed in the 1980s. The Outer Heaven mother PMCs (specifically the Praying Mantis PMC, the Pieuvre Armement PMC, and the Raven Sword PMC) utilized Strykers during their missions in the Middle East, South America, and Eastern Europe, respectively. LVT-5 Amphibious Assault Vehicle The LVT-5 Amphibious Assault Vehicle is a fully tracked amphibious armored personnel carrier used by the United States Marine Corps. Manufactured in 1956 by BorgWarner and FMC (Food Machinery Corporation), it was utilized during the Vietnam War. During the Peace Walker Incident, the private military group known as MSF utilized at least four LVTP-5 Amphibious Assault Vehicles when proceeding to deploy its full force to Nicaragua in order to aid their commander, Big Boss, in halting Peace Sentinel's launch of Peace Walker and its nuke towards Mother Base. Behind the scenes In various promotional trailers of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, more specifically the Tactical Espionage Operations trailer and the TGS 2009 trailer, at least six LAV Type-Cs are seen traveling on the Los Cantos bridge with at least four MBTK-70s and a Mil Mi-24 overhead, as well as at least three LAV Type-Cs traveling with two MBTK-70 tanks and several soldiers on a field in an unidentified location. These scenes do not appear in the game itself. The Type-G and C armored vehicles featured in Peace Walker are based on the the AVGP Grizzly and Cougar types, respectively, both being variants of the Armoured (sic) Vehicle General Purpose APC of the Canadian Army. They were formally adopted into the Canadian Army in 1976, two years after the events of the game. APCs are seen in the VGA 2011 trailer for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, being used by the PMSC of which Raiden is a member. In the game, Kevin Washington refers to them as armored transports in an optional Codec conversation. In a post on Twitter, Hideo Kojima unveiled a screenshot from his Fox Engine demonstration at the University of Southern California, which depicted a figure similar to Big Boss lying in wait while another vehicle is passing by. The appearance of the vehicle was similar to that of the Austrian Pandur 8x8. Similarly, another still released depicted a figure resembling Big Boss in the desert evading an APC like vehicle. The stills were later revealed to be from the in-development Metal Gear Solid V, with the player able to commandeer enemy APCs in the prologue game Ground Zeroes. The feature will return in the main game The Phantom Pain, in addition to being able to retrieve the vehicles for Mother Base via the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system. Notes and references Category:Land vehicles Category:Watercraft Category:Vehicles in Metal Gear Solid 3 Category:Vehicles in Metal Gear Solid 4 Category:Vehicles in Peace Walker Category:Vehicles in Metal Gear Rising Category:Vehicles in Metal Gear Solid V Category:Bosses in Peace Walker